Food hunting, or restaurant hopping, is one of the top activities people do when they visit a destination these days. It’s no different with Batam. People love going there to taste the varieties of Batam food, Indonesian cuisine, and even fast food.

Unhealthy as it may be, fast food is the ultimate ‘comfort food‘ for many of us. Eating it would always give us that ‘sinful yet special’ feeling of satisfaction.

There are some fast food brands that used to exist in Singapore, but unfortunately not anymore. A mere mention of their name or a glimpse of their logo could trigger intense nostalgia and untold excitement in many Singaporeans.

One of those brands is of course, A&W.

A&W had its presence in Singapore for 37 years. In fact, it was the first international fast food chain to set foot here in Singapore (1966), much earlier than the more popular KFC (1977), and Macdonald’s (1979).

While some of you might not have the opportunity to have it in Singapore (it pulled out of Singapore in 2003), many of us has vivid memory of it. Fret not! You can stop reminiscing and start reliving those nostalgic A&W moments when you are in Batam.

Editor Update – 7 Jul 2017: A&W will be returning to Singapore due to popular demand

But before you go there, let’s review the A&W in Batam and at the same time, recall their distinct offering.

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Location

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review

Location is always one of the top considerations for any service establishment, including a fast food restaurant. Food outlets that are conveniently located have an edge over those that need extensive travelling to get to.

Although there are currently just two of them, both A&W outlets in Batam are located at the most strategic places. One is within Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall, the top shopping centre in Batam within the main Nagoya town. The other one is at Batam Mega Mall, which is a 5-minute walk away from Batam Centre Ferry Terminal, the arrival and departure point in Batam for many visitors.

You just cannot ask for a better restaurant location in Batam than these 2 locations!

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Variety

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review
Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review

While it might not operationally advantageous to them, a wide range of food variety is definitely a bonus to customers. As a matter of fact, many customers would have more reasons to return and try out all the different offerings.

A&W are not only serving fried chickens and chicken burgers as their mains, but also sandwiches and wraps of beef, fish, and even veggie!

Let’s not forget their famous curly fries as well as french fries, and nuggets as the choice of sides.

Did you know they have add-ons such as chicken soup, sunny-side up egg, rice, and even potato perkedel? Of course they also serve their well-known deserts like the waffle ice cream, sundaes, and milkshakes. Lastly, who could forget their signature Root Beer Float?

While it might not seem necessary to some, their food variety is definitely impressive for a fast food restaurant. In fact, seeing how popular A&W is with both locals and tourists, it might just be one of their recipes for success.

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Quality

This is where I think they truly stand out as compared to many other fast food chains on the island, or even in the whole of Indonesia. Let’s look at their main offerings.

  • A&W Chicken

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review

The size of their fried chickens is smaller than those found in fast food restaurants in Singapore. I definitely prefer them this way as they look more ‘normal’ and taste better, with softer and better-texture meat.

As I ordered the Duo Aroma Chicken Meal, the ’Golden’ chicken tasted a little like KFC’s ‘Original’ chicken, although slightly different. The ‘Spicy’ chicken is my favourite as it was rather unique, although not as spicy as I would have liked.

 

  • A&W Root Bear Float

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review
A&W Root Beer is THE thing! Many diners are here just for this legendary beverage. The ice cream is really good and creamy. Combined with the cold fizzy root beer, it’s extremely refreshing. And just take a look at that generous glass size. Awesome!

  • A&W Curly Fries

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review

An A&W meal would not be complete without the signatureA&W curly fries. I must say that their curly fries are much crunchier than those occasional ones served at Macdonald’s. In addition, they are also much shorter in length, hence much easier to put in the mouth.

  • A&W Chilli

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review
Although it’s not an exceptional condiment, A&W Chilli at least spicier than the usual chilli sauce we have in Singapore’s fast food restaurants.

 

  • A&W Ice Cream Waffle

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review

Lastly, what better way to end your meal with the sweet savoury dessert in the form of A&W Ice Cream Waffle? The waffle is topped by either chocolate, strawberry, or the peach ice cream.

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Ambience

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review

The ambience at A&W is typical of a fast food restaurant, nothing too fancy or too shabby. Nevertheless, the A&W in Mega Mall Batam Centre is my personal preference due to its size and exposed layout, giving it a very ‘spacious’ feel. In addition, being able to look out to the main street through the glass gives diners that combined atmosphere of being both indoor and outdoor at the same time.

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Service

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review

The counter staff was friendly and well-informed of all their variety of food. Although we had to wait before they served us the waffle ice cream and curly fries, the wait was reasonable.

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Value

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review
With a total pocket damage of just Rp 105,500 (SGD 11) for a 2-piece chicken meal with curly fries and root beer float, as well as a waffle ice cream, it was decently affordable.

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Verdict

Batam Food Blog - A&W Batam Review

In conclusion, both A&W restaurants in Batam are conveniently located. In addition to its wide range of variety, the quality of food served is of good fast food standard. Moreover, the food is affordably and reasonably priced.

All in all, eating at A&W Batam will not only satisfy your fast food craving but also fulfil your soul. Even if you are not a fan of fast food, you have to give the A&W in Batam a try, especially in the name of Nostalgia!

Final verdict: Must Eat!

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7 thoughts on “Batam Food Blog – A&W Batam Review”

  1. Great detailed review! I havent eat in many years. I’m going to eat it when i go batam next month. Thank you!

  2. Sizes of the chicken served are slightly smaller in size as compared to KFC in Indonesia and the variety of combo sets is far less as well. However at the end of the day, nothing can beat their root beer float!

  3. Me and my friend went to the A&W( Nagoya Hill LG Floor, Lubuk Baja Kota, Lubuk Baja, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia).We were from singapore.When we went there my friend went ordered for a sundae ice cream via the staff.Then,upon looking at the root beer float in the menu,he wanted to change his order.Hi did not even confirm his order and he never even pay for his order,but the staff said,cannot cancel order once it is keyed inside the system.She went on saying that my friend would have to add on to his sundae.Then my friend insisted her to cancel the order and we reordered 2 root beer float,and we paid money for it too.But then what followed was astonishing to me and my friend.There was another staff who was making the root beer float for us.But the staff who attended me and my friend(HER NAME IS EVITA RS),went to just snatch the root beer from the staff who was making it for us.The staff just started to put the ice cream on top of the root beer and EVITA went on to snatch is from her and she just quickly gave it to us.The ice cream was so little that me and my friend took only 2-3 tablespoon of the ice cream and it was gone.Since we ordered for a eat,we were looking at how much of ice cream other people got on their root beer float and we shocked to see that the ice cream were overflowing out of the cup for other people but for us,as i mentioned above,only 2-3 TABLESPOON!!!!
    Not only that,I went to ask her if i can get onion ring ala carte…she said that the onion rings finished but the customer next in qeue after me was served with 2 onion rings ala carte!
    I can’t believe that the well known A&W has such ridiculous and rude staff.
    I hope that the MANAGEMENT of A&W does take this matter seriously and take certain measures;especially on EVITA RS who gave us a poor customer service.

    1. Hi Rashim, We regret to hear of your experience at the Nagoya Hill A&W outlet. It seems that you experienced some misunderstanding with the A&W staff which can certainly happen. BatamGetaway always advise our customers to express their discontent to the service provider during the trip, as it is difficult for us to be able to do anything for our customers when they have already returned back to Singapore. We will attempt to convey this information to the management of A&W in Batam, nevertheless, the rest would be beyond our control. For your peace of mind, perhaps being the better person to forgive the poor customer service will help. Thank you and we appreciate the comment. Wishing you a great day!

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